Environmental negligence: Police yet to arrest suspects for chopping down 70 trees

Neem, Cornocorpus and Eucalyptus trees were cut by the accused, said Ahmed


The police have yet to arrest the suspects responsible for cutting trees on Shaheed-e-Millat Road. PHOTO: AYSHA SALEEM/EXPRESS

KARACHI:


The police have failed to arrest the suspects responsible for cutting 70 trees in front of a multi-storey residential building at Shaheed-e-Millat road near Bahadurabad Intersection.


As the incident was brought to light, parks and horticulture department deputy director Nadeem Ahmed registered an FIR at the Ferozabad police station against the Gohar group of companies. The company has constructed the residential building

The FIR has been registered under sections 379, 427/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 132 of the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013.

"I believe the law must come into action and the people involved in the act should be arrested," said Karachi commissioner Asif Haider Shah while speaking to the The Express Tribune. "I will personally contact the District East SSP to look into the matter."

The police visited the company's office but no one was there, said investigation officer Jameel Soomro. If a person is found guilty, he will be imprisoned for seven years or will have to pay a fine of Rs1 million, he claimed.

The accused must be brought to justice, said Sindh Environmental Protection Agency director-general Naeem Mughal. The city is facing major subtraction of trees and that is the reason behind the increasing temperatures, he added.

Neem, Cornocorpus and Eucalyptus trees were cut by the accused, said Ahmed.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2016.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ